


Belle Recommended, Ruby Approved

by swanqueenfic13



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 18:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4971712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swanqueenfic13/pseuds/swanqueenfic13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Belle *finally* found a book that Ruby likes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Belle Recommended, Ruby Approved

 

Belle can’t help but smile.

She leans on the doorjamb, crossing her arms over her chest, looking into their bedroom. Ruby lays on the bed, one leg crossed over the other, leaning her head against the headboard. She’s wearing her glasses, which Belle knows she hates. _I look like Granny,_ Ruby always whined. But she’s wearing her glasses, her brow furrowed, the ghost of a smile quirking at the edge of her lips as she turns another page of the first Harry Potter book.

Belle smiles as she pushes off the doorjamb and crawls onto the bed, careful not to jostle Ruby or interrupt her reading. She was the first to admit to Belle that she wasn’t much for reading. Ruby would read magazines, but novels bored her, poetry was over her head, and short stories seemed too full of metaphors and deeper meaning for her to comprehend. When they started dating, Belle made it her mission to find at least one novel for Ruby to read and genuinely enjoy.

They’d tried the old classics: _Pride and Prejudice, Grapes of Wrath, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Crime and Punishment, Little Women_. Nothing there. So, they tried some more recent literature, things Belle often supplied for high school English students at the school: _1984, Catcher in the Rye, Great Gatsby, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men_. Ruby hated all of them. So, Belle was moving on to contemporary literature, young adult literature, and it seems like they finally got a winner.

So, when Belle climbs onto the bed, Ruby doesn’t even say anything. She doesn’t take her eyes off the book. She just lifts one arm, giving Belle room to climb up and lay her head on Ruby’s chest, one hand on her girlfriend’s stomach, one over her heart.

“You um, you liking the book?” Belle whispers. Ruby angles the book so that Belle can read along.

“Yeah, it’s great,” Ruby mumbles, turning another page. Belle just smiles, stifling a yawn. Ruby reaches down, absentmindedly running her fingers through her girlfriend’s hair.

“You should read it to me,” Belle suggests sleepily. She reads to Ruby all the time. _Makes it more interesting_ , Ruby always grins, though Belle thinks it’s just because Ruby loves listening to her accent. She’s told her so on many occasions.

“Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom,” Ruby read. Ruby always insists that Belle has the best voice for reading aloud, but Ruby’s is lower and steadier. It rises and falls, breaking like waves on Belle’s ears. It lilts, it’s rhythmic, like a song, a lullaby, soothing Belle to sleep. Ruby continues to read aloud, knowing Belle is asleep, but needing to finish it.

It’s nearly three in the morning when she gets to the last chapter. “"Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home,”” Ruby reads. ““I’m going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…” The end.” She sighs, looking down at Belle. She wants to get up, she needs the second book, but Belle is sleeping. She’s so cute when she’s sleeping, like a little koala, clinging to Ruby. Her nose whistles as she breathes out, and Ruby smiles.

“I love you,” she whispers, kissing the top of Belle’s head. She closes her eyes, and tries to sleep. She really does! But she needs to know what happens next. “I love you, but I need to know what happens,” she whispers, slipping Belle out of her arms as she runs out of their apartment and down to the library.

“Ruby, wha?” Belle mumbles, watching her girlfriend sprint out of their bedroom. She just laughs, knowing where she’s going, and drops her head back on the pillow. As she falls asleep, Belle can’t help but smile.


End file.
